


Under a Serpent Sun

by lucymonster



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Poe Dameron (Comics)
Genre: Character study of Character who sure does think they're doing the right thing (they're wrong), First Order Politics (Star Wars), Gen, Moral Bankruptcy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28546527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucymonster/pseuds/lucymonster
Summary: People call Terex a criminal, sure. Those same people would gladly tell Ren that today’s massacre was the worst kind of war crime. You can’t let them draw you into the weeds like that.
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren & Terex
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: Bulletproof 20/21





	Under a Serpent Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rimenorreason](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rimenorreason/gifts).



The campsite offers little in the way of creature comfort. Senior command won’t be here for long, and demountables are good enough for the rank and file. Agent Terex should know: he slept in plenty of tin cans back when he was TK-603 of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. Dust swirls from the recent orbital bombardment, and this planet’s nauseating heat isn’t much better indoors than out. But there’s no direct sun under the corrugated roof, which is something. Fewer insects, which is something else. The command shack is the place to be – no matter who else is in it.

‘I’ll grant you this,’ Terex says, pouring a drink from the carafe on the upturned ammo crate. ‘Those gangsters of yours are good at what they do. I’ve never seen such efficient killing.’

‘Gangsters?’ Kylo Ren’s tone of scorn might sound scary filtered through a vocoder. But his helmet’s off, and his young face looks more petulant than perilous, cheeks pink from the several drinks he’s ahead by. ‘You mean the Knights of Ren?’

Terex tips his glass in Ren’s direction. ‘Knights, gangsters. Meiloorun, meiloh-run.’ He takes a sip. It’s awful. Tastes like smuggler’s hooch, and not the good stuff. ‘I once had a gang of my own, you know. The Rancs. We were legends, from the streets of Kaddak all the way to–’

‘I’m aware of your criminal record,’ Ren says coldly. ‘Phasma believes you can be useful to the First Order. If it were my call, you’d be on execution row.’

‘Don’t you technically outrank Phasma?’ Terex puts delicate stress on  _ technically, _ because he knows it’ll sting enough to be amusing without rousing Ren all the way to violence. ‘If you executed me now, you probably wouldn’t get in trouble. You could say I was misbehaving and you had to stop me.’

Ren knocks back a grim mouthful. ‘If you do misbehave, that’s exactly what I’ll do. But the Supreme Leader himself gave Phasma permission to recruit you, and unless provoked, I intend to honour his judgement.’ Delicate stress on  _ provoked. _ The kid’s better at this game than Terex first thought. ‘That’s the difference between us. You and your Rancs are self-serving criminal scum. My Knights and I believe in a higher cause. We follow the law.’

Law. It’d be a good joke if Ren had a sense of humour. Over the last several hours, Terex has seen this man’s troops bomb a city from orbit and sweep through the ruined streets butchering survivors. Something about the dark side and the balance of the Force – honestly, he tuned most of it out. Supreme Leader Snoke isn’t the first overlord to use a crazed occultist as his attack dog. But Emperor Palpatine had access to a better breed than this mole-flecked mongrel. A breed that didn’t have to drown the horror of each kill with a bottle of alcoholic sewage in a stuffy command shack. Even a guy as cracked as Ren wouldn’t drink this swill for fun.

People call Terex a criminal, sure. Those same people would gladly tell Ren that today’s massacre was the worst kind of war crime. You can’t let them draw you into the weeds like that. Terex does follow the law – the  _ real  _ law, not set by individual worlds but enforced across the whole galaxy by a clear-sighted, iron-fisted ruler. While the galaxy lacks that ruler, all bets are off. Terex was there when the Rebel terrorists stole Palpatine’s throne. He did what he had to do to survive in the lawless world they created. Soon, the First Order will set things right, and Terex will no longer be a criminal. He’ll be one of the heroes who helped restore the headstrong galaxy to its rightfully submissive state.

He doesn’t say any of that aloud, because needling Ren is only fun until Ren uses his lightsaber to needle back. ‘This liquor doesn’t taste legal,’ he says instead. ‘It tastes like it was distilled in a prison out of food scraps and piss. If I said I could get us something better, what would you say?’

Ren gives him a look. ‘I’d say I already know about the whiskey you smuggled onto base in that secret shuttle compartment.’

‘How does a nice, law-abiding boy like yourself know how to find a gangster’s secret compartment? You and me, Ren, I think we have more in common than you’d like to admit.’

‘Get out of my command room.’

Terex stays seated and kicks his feet up on the table. He knows where the line is. Kid hides it well, but he’s already halfway to wasted. ‘I knew your granddad, you know. Lord Vader. I’ll tell you what. How about I have someone bring us that whiskey, and we shoot the breeze? I can tell you about the Imperial days, maybe share some family stories you haven’t heard.’

‘Whatever you want from me, you won’t get it.’

‘An evening’s pleasant conversation? No, I guess I won’t.’

He lets the silence hang. After a long pause and a longer look at his vile drink, Ren says: ‘Call for the whiskey, and I won’t report you to Phasma for having liquor in a dry zone.’

‘I assume it goes without saying you won’t report yourself, either.’ Terex laughs. ‘See, kid, we’re not so different. You’re in command of this base, which means it’s only a dry zone if you make it one. And you’re not going to. Does that make us both criminals?’

‘Call me kid one more time.’

But Terex has made his point. He doesn’t expect it to stick – with zealots like Ren, it never does. They’ll drink together tonight, and tomorrow, he’ll go straight back to sneering. That’s fine. Soon the First Order will have control of the galaxy, and Terex will be once and for all on the right side of the law. That’s how the law – the  _ real  _ law, made by people with  _ real  _ power – works. Other rules are just made to be broken.


End file.
